Too Young for Kindergarten? Tide Turning Against 4-Year-Olds
Erin Ferrantino helps Bernard Alexander, 5, at Rawson Elementary School in Hartford. Ms. Ferrantino says she has seen firsthand the challenges for kindergartners who start at 4 years old.
By WINNIE HU
Published: May 27, 2011
Erin Ferrantino rarely has to consult the birthday chart in her kindergarten classroom to pick out the Octobers, Novembers and Decembers. This year, there was the girl who broke down in tears after an hour’s work, and the boy who held a pencil with his fist rather than his fingers.
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Those two, along with another of Ms. Ferrantino’s pupils who were 4 when school started, will be repeating kindergarten next year.
“They struggled because they’re not developmentally ready,” said Ms. Ferrantino, 26, who teaches in Hartford. “It is such a long day and so draining, they have a hard time holding it together.”
Soon, Ms. Ferrantino may not have to be on the